Carndonagh social enterprise Spraoi agus Spórt announces expansion plans

Carndonagh social enterprise Spraoi agus Spórt has announced that sustainability is one of its top priorities as it continues to expand its operations.

The award-winning social enterprise says it is growing its senior management team to support the development of its circular economy hub, Síoraí, and new garden centre.

The hub was formally launched in late 2023 and has created two outlets already: Síoraí Clothing and Síoraí Home. These initiatives are designed to support sustainability through the reuse and upcycling of clothing, accessories, and home goods.

Chief executive Helen Nolan says the team are also excited to announce a recruitment campaign for the role of operations manager – sustainability and circular economy.

READ NEXT: Inspirational Donegal woman Marie Furey harnessing her grief to help others

“This pivotal position will join the senior management team and drive sustainable practices across the organisation’s diverse initiatives, not just Síoraí. The operations manager will also cover the development of our garden centre and nursery, and our bioeconomy hub.

“It will be an exciting and dynamic role, leading and expanding sustainable operations and community engagement across these multiple hubs. But it will also involve developing and implementing long-term strategic plans to drive growth, efficiency, and environmental impact. As the needs of the community grow and the potential for our services to meet them evolve, we have big plans for the future; this role will be a core element of this.”

Spraoi agus Spórt has grown its staff team by over a third in the past four years, as it expands their services to meet community needs.
“The last available figures show we increased the number of Child and Family Hub programmes from 11 in 2021 to 21 programmes last year,” says Helen.

The number of community visits to the Child and Family Hub rose to over 7,000 last year.

“Our Digital Creative Lab aims to level the playing field for disadvantaged areas by offering up-to-date digital, science and engineering skills and programmes for children and young people. Participation in these programmes has risen to 1,760 children and young people last year.”
Our community childcare service has grown 5-fold since 2021 and we now provide places for over 200 children, supporting local families. The jobs generated by this growth jumped from just 8 in 2021 to a total of 27 staff employed last year.

To find out more about the operations manager role, please contact not-for-profit sector recruitment agency recruitment@cciexecutivesearch.ie. For further information about Spraoi agus Spórt’s work, please visit www.spraoiagussport.ie.

READ NEXT: Drumfries artist Claire Harkin keeps the tradition of weaving alive

Helen Nolan says the organsiation wants to acknowledge the ongoing support of its valued funders. “These include Rethink Ireland, the Community Foundation for Ireland, The Ireland Funds, the Department of Rural and Community Development, the Department of Agriculture, and Pobal through the Community Services Programme. Their investment enables us to build innovative, community-led solutions that make a lasting impact.”